


Engendered Shark. With Legs.

by Zodiac



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Amaurot (Final Fantasy XIV), Amaurotines (Final Fantasy XIV), Ascians (Final Fantasy XIV), Gen, Hyth is still a gremlin though, Inappropriate use of Creation Magic, Major General is best shark though, Mitron is mentioned but not present, Patch 5.0: Shadowbringers Spoilers, Slice of Life, and ink stamps, much to Emet-Selch's relief
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:28:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24288142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zodiac/pseuds/Zodiac
Summary: Emet-Selch was accustomed to receiving all sorts of messengers at the Bureau of the Architect after he had taken his spot in the Convocation. However, he had to admit that having a tiny shark with legs trundle into his office was a new one.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 20





	Engendered Shark. With Legs.

"...What in the name of the Underworld is that?"

Emet-Selch had glanced down from the small pile of paperwork he was working on for the day to squint through his mask at the interloper to his office. For all intents and purposes, it looked to be a small, bipedal, baby blue shark with a stubby pair of fins and legs just barely long enough to waddle, which it eagerly did until it was standing right beside him. In its clenched, oh-so sharp teeth, it held a rolled-up strip of parchment, beady black eyes staring up at him insistently.

"Ah… I believe it is one of Mitron's creations." Hythlodaeus explained sheepishly from the doorway to the esteemed Emet-Selch's office, gingerly shutting the door behind himself.

"...I did not approve of this. I certainly would not approve of  _ any _ creation of Mitron's that has legs."

"Yes, well," Hythlodaeus' tone was patient and placating, but that damnable smirk on his face betrayed the bemusement he no-doubt felt about this situation, "there are many people in the Bureau who work on the approval of creations, Emet-Selch. Someone  _ else  _ must have seen the apparent benefits in such a concept."

At that, the Convocation member's gaze lifted, golden, distrustful squint leveled on his subordinate now. Under such a withering look, Hythlodaeus shrugged helplessly, his own eyes suddenly finding the little shark rather interesting to stare at.

"It  _ is  _ rather cute…" Was the only explanation.

"To some people." The closest thing to agreeing that something was cute that Emet-Selch would ever say. "It is also in my office instead of being waylaid by you in the lobby, as it should have been."

"Well, you see, it seemed to be aware of precisely where it was going and was  _ very _ adamant in making certain it reached its destination. I simply could not stand by and watch as it attempted to open the door in the lobby by uselessly pushing its little fins against it, so I  _ may  _ have opened it… along with the next one and the next one."

"And the next one." Emet-Selch finished for him, a hand reaching beneath his mask to pinch the bridge of his nose. Hythlodaeus may have magical and mental abilities to rival his own, but the sheer amount of  _ chaos _ (or chaotic creations, in this case) he brought into his workspace balanced that out in the worst way possible. "Considering you have not mentioned them, I am assuming Mitron was nowhere to be seen? Did they just loose this  _ creature _ upon us and retreated, cackling, to their lair?" His tone was desert-dry.

"I can only guess so. Mitron has a rather…" A pause, the poor Amaurotine clearly trying to come up with a word approaching polite. "obvious presence, so I do not believe I missed them." Hythlodaeus then finally pushed away from the relative safety of the door, tilting a head down at the shark. "It does seem to have a message of some sort, so mayhaps Mitron deemed it better to be delivered in written form rather than verbally…?"

"In that case, I worry as to what this message could say… though, as far as messengers go, it could definitely be worse with Mitron involved." With that said, he leaned down and tugged at the parchment in the shark's maw, mildly surprised at how easily it relinquished it. A flick of his wrist and the parchment snapped open before he reluctantly began to read from it, saying the words aloud for Hythlodaeus' nosy benefit.

_ "If you are reading this, then I can only assume that my new attempt at creating a messenger worked marvelously… or it ate my message and it managed to remain in a readable form through its gullet. Either way, win-win! _

_ Anyway, with all the creations that you apparently do not approve of, I decided it was an absolute waste of my time and energy to traipse aaall the way down to that stuffy Bureau of yours just to submit a form that you will simply fling right back in my face, so now I have loyal minions to do that in my stead! Or, one, at the very least. I am already brainstorming other creations to use as messengers and they will be guaranteed to be as much of a treat for you to deal with as I am! Now then, how can I fit an extra jaw onto a clinoid…? _

_ Mitron." _

For a brief moment, Emet-Selch just stared down at the sheet still gripped in his hand, gaze skipping back over the words in utter disbelief, though that was quickly giving way to a bubbling annoyance. The only sound in the room was Hythlodaeus' failed attempts to contain his laughter, a fist pressed demurely against his mouth to little effect.

Abruptly, Emet-Selch let out an aggravated groan as he crumpled up the parchment into a tight ball. He was going to chuck it straight into his trash can, but then he noticed that little shark still looking up at him, mouth agape in an almost eager fashion. Figuring it would be Mitron's problem, he tossed the wadded parchment into that maw and watched with morbid fascination as this creature chomped away at it.

Still, he couldn't return this "messenger" to Mitron without some reply of his own. Pushing away slightly from his desk, he opened the middle drawer. Within were a variety of ink stamps that he mostly reserved for concepts too asinine or confusing for him to even begin crafting a handwritten reason as to why they had been rejected. Plucking one that he had already used for Mitron's shenanigans more often than he would like, he pressed it firmly against the top of the shark's snout, leaving a big, red "NO" emblazoned on it when he pulled away.

With that done, he deposited the stamp back in his desk so he could instead pick up the still-gnawing creation and deposit it in the arms of Hythlodaeus, who was continuing to chuckle away.

"Try to direct this misguided creature back to its creator. Oh, and inform good Mitron that I will not suffer to entertain any more of their "messengers" in place of their own presence. If they wish to submit an application for a creation, then they can certainly make their way to the Bureau themselves and I can explain to them in  _ exquisite  _ detail as to why we do not need more deep-sea creatures with multiple jaws with or without the ability to be dislocated."

As Hythlodaeus left with another of those chuckles and an, "Of course, Emet-Selch~" he sighed and slouched back in his chair, his joints audibly protesting the action.

He futilely hoped that Mitron wouldn't want  _ that _ exquisite of detail...

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed this and wanted to screech at me in a manner similar to socializing, then you can find my Twitter right [here](https://twitter.com/HippestGlitch).


End file.
